DRUG CLASSES PROFILE AMONG ELDERLY PATIENTS ADMITTED TO GERIATRIC UNIT

Background
Elderly people have a higher prevalence of chronic illness, disability and dependency and are more likely to be on medication than younger people. They are often taking several drugs at once to treat concomitant disease processes.
Aim
To identify and classify different types of drugs and comorbid diseases encountered among hospitalized elderly patients.
Methods
Data were prospectively collected from 320 patients aged ≥ 65 hospitalized at the Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology at a university teaching hospital in Egypt among 17 month study period. Patient’s medical profiles were studied carefully for identification and classification of different types of drugs and comorbid diseases encountered among hospitalized elderly patients.
Results
There were different types of comorbid diseases encountered among the patients, with a median of five per patient and a range of 1-11 per patient. The most common medical disorders among the studied patients were hypertension (52.8%), diabetes (42.5%) and chronic liver diseases (40.3%). The total number of medications prescribed was 2985; median number of medications per patient was nine (range 2-20). The most commonly prescribed medications were antacids and peptic ulcer medications (78.1%), antiplatelet and anticoagulants (77.2%) and antibiotics (68.1%). While the less frequently prescribed drugs were skeletal muscle relaxant (0.6%) and antifungal drugs (0.3%).
Conclusion
Results of the current study have reported the presence of poly-pharmacy and poly-morbidity among this Egyptian elderly patient’s profile.